Soil Fertility Resources for Extension Agents National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference 24 July 2006 Cincinnati, OH Tom Bruulsema, PhD Northeast Director Potash & Phosphate Institute

PPI/PPIC Member Companies

PPIs Northeast Region

Why Educate on Soil Fertility?

Nutrients: Benefits & Risks

Atmosphere Terrestrial Ecosystems Aquatic Ecosystems Human Activities Groundwater Effects Stream & River Effects Coastal Effects Stratospheric Effects Greenhouse Effects Energy Production PM & Visibility Effects Ozone Effects Agroecosystem Effects NH x Food Production NO x Crop Animal People (Food; Fiber) Soil NO 3 The Nitrogen Cascade NH 3 N2ON2O N2ON2O --Indicates denitrification potential N org Forests & Grassland Soil Galloway & Cowling, 2002

Hypoxic Area in Gulf of Mexico No Data 15 Hypoxia data by N. Rabalais, LUMCON Square miles

European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Science 25 November 2005 Vol no. 5752, pp

Greenhouse Gases N2ON2O

Phosphorus & eutrophication

Improving Nutrient Use Efficiency

P: 108% K: 90% Improvement: % Corn Yield: 55% N: 43% Source: USDA-NASS; PPI

Galloway and Cowling,

Ending Poverty Requires Fertilizer…

Best Management Practices Right rate Right time Right place

Who Needs to Know? Everyone! Soil Fertility Specialists Producers Policymakers and Regulators Public – young & old

PPI Publications

A complete course in soil fertility All 17 essential elements Color slides Nutrient deficiency symptoms

How Potassium Moves in Soil

Elementary Education

Powerpoint Presentations Phosphorus Nutrition –Alfalfa –Canola –Corn –Cotton –Wheat Potassium Nutrition –Alfalfa –Cotton –Northern Great Plains

Quality for Health Agricultures connection to food –Take a Closer Look –Fertilizer and Tofu –Functional Foods research –Fertilizer Impacts on Quality

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 PPI/PPIC/FAR Technical Bulletin

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Private Laboratories A&L Analytical Labs, Inc. – Memphis, TN A&L Great Lakes Labs, Inc. – Fort Wayne, IN A&L Canada Laboratories, Inc. – London, ON A&L Plains, Ag Lab – Lubbock, TX Agri Analysis, Inc. – Leola, PA Agri-Food Laboratories – Guelph, ON AGVISE Laboratories – Northwood, ND AgriQuanta – St-Ours, QC Agro-Enviro-Sol – La Pocatière, QC Alvey Lab – Belleville, IL Bradford Agri Lab – Yazoo City, MS Brookside Lab, Inc. – New Knoxville, OH Cooperative Federee de Quebec – Longueuil, QC Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. – Arcadia, WI Dellavalle Lab, Inc. – Fresno, CA Enviro-Test Labs – Calgary, AB LGI – Ellsworth, IA Litchfield Analytical Services – Litchfield, MI MDS Harris – Lincoln, NE Midwest Laboratories, Inc. – Omaha, NE Mowers Soil Testing Plus, Inc. – Toulon, IL Norwest Labs – Edmonton, AB Olsens Ag Lab – McCook, NE Precision Agri-lab – Madera, CA Rock River Lab – Watertown, WI Servi-Tech, Inc. – Amarillo, TX Servi-Tech, Inc. – Dodge City, KS Servi-Tech, Inc. – Hastings, NE Spectrum Analytic, Inc. – Washington Court House, OH Stratford Agri Analysis – Stratford, ON Stukenholtz Laboratory – Twin Falls, ID SynAgri – St-Hilaire, QC United Soils, Inc. – Fairbury, IL Ward Laboratories, Inc. – Kearney, NE Waters Agricultural Labs – Camilla, GA William Houde, Ltd. – St-Simon, QC

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Public Laboratories Auburn University Clemson University Colorado State University Cornell University Department of Natural Resources – Corner Brook, NL Iowa State University Kansas State University Kentucky Division of Regulatory Services Louisiana State University Mississippi State University New Brunswick Department of Agriculture and Rural Development New Mexico State University North Carolina Department of Ag North Dakota State University Oklahoma State University PEI Soil & Feed Testing Laboratory Rutgers University South Dakota State University Texas A&M University The Pennsylvania State University University of Arkansas University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Florida University of Georgia University of Guelph University of Maine University of Missouri University of Nebraska University of Tennessee University of Vermont University of West Virginia University of Wisconsin, Madison University of Wisconsin, Marshfield Utah State University Virginia Tech

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 1. Fraction of Samples Analyzed by Specific P and K Soil Tests

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 4. Soil test P frequency distribution for North America in North America

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 7. Soil test K frequency distribution in 2001 and 2005.

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Soil Test Interpretation Why not one recommendation for a given soil test level?

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research 96 site-years

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 8. Median soil pH levels, 2005.

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 11. Percent of soils testing less than 75 ppm Mg.

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Figure 12. Percent of soils testing less than 3 ppm S.

Soil Test Levels in North America, 2005 Potash & Phosphate Institute / Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada Foundation for Agronomic Research Summary Approximately 3.4 million samples from 70 laboratories are included in the summary Results indicate the importance of regular soil testing because a large number of samples test in or near critical soil test ranges where nutrient recommendations vary greatly Median P level is 31 ppm, with 41% of samples for 2005 crop year testing less than 25 ppm Median K level is 154 ppm, with 33% of samples testing less than 120 ppm, and 53% less than 160 ppm Median pH for U.S. and Canada is 6.3, with 31% of samples testing < 6.0 Need for soil testing is important to determine fertility status of specific fields

BMPs for Efficient Fertilizer Use 12 basic tips

Fertilizer BMPs 1. Measure what the soil can provide 2. Consider crop removal 3. Set realistic yield goals 4. Use all nutrient sources available

Fertilizer BMPs 5. Keep the proper balance of nutrients 6. Manage soil pH 7. Manage for maximum economic yield 8. Time applications

Fertilizer BMPs 9. Control release 10. Band in the right place 11. Test on-farm 12. Consult a credible adviser

PPI Tools on the Web Crop Nutrient Response Tool PKalc Hybrid Maize Fertilizer Chooser

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